A “BEST Day” in education is the day a teacher witnesses the very moment that a student masters a skill or grasps a concept that was extremely challenging for the student to master or grasp. The moment can typically be identified by the student’s eyes lighting up and a smile on their face. The student immediately exudes self-confidence and pride, which can be felt by everyone in the room. The magnitude of that moment in the learning environment is almost indescribable unless it has been personally experienced. It is exciting to watch every student grow socially, emotionally, and academically, but it is truly magical when the journey has been a little challenging and it ends with the student beaming with joy.
A teacher’s role is to support student learning and help them master the given standards, skills, and concepts in the learning environment. When a student or group of students struggle with a standard, skill, or concept a teacher must adjust, adapt, modify, and differentiate instructional practices and possibly even his or her very own personal educational philosophy. Therefore, teachers are constantly learning right along with their students since no two students are alike. I think that is why the best day in education for a student is also the best day for the teacher because it was truly a journey for both.
The most recent “BEST Day” experience(s) I had was with my first grade student who came into my learning environment not able to write his name, unable to identify most letters or sounds of the alphabet, and unable to write many letters of the alphabet. Not having those prerequisite skills makes even the beginning part of first grade challenging. You could see the look of frustration on his face and self-confidence dwindle in the first few days of school as we completed review activities and required diagnostics. He even said to me “I can’t even write my own name.” It was truly heartbreaking.
So the Title One teacher, intervention specialist, and I developed a plan to get us to the “BEST Day.” We implemented a lot of technology as part of our plan because he thoroughly enjoys gaming and technology allowed for us to efficiently differentiate to meet his needs. We started working with him using the Zaner-Blouser handwriting app to teach him letter formation. We utilized Heggerty and Orton-Gillingham to improve his phonemic awareness and phonics. We utilized iReady, Scholastic Literacy (F.I.R.S.T., W.O.R.D, Literacy Pro) and online learning libraries to improve his reading. Most importantly, we practiced his name. Little by little we watched him grow not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. He worked extremely hard and never gave up.
The first “BEST Day” was when he sat at his desk beaming, waiting for me to see his name spelled correctly and neatly on the top of his paper. It might have been the ultimate “BEST Day” in education as a teacher in my career so far. He was so proud. The next “BEST Day” was when he was able to sound out basic CVC words. He stood a little taller as he went down the list. The “BEST Days” continued until he completed his end of the year assessments with me one-on-one. During these assessments, he independently wrote a sentence, perfectly wrote his first and last name, and increased four guided reading levels. He looked at me at the end and said “Remember when I couldn’t even write my name?”
Thankfully there are multiple “BEST Day” experiences in education!
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